I recently saw a McLean, Virginia, customer’s new laptop with Vista that did not have the recycle bin (trash can) on the desktop by default. She couldn’t find it in the program list or by doing a search for “recycle bin”. Here’s how to get it back.
Right click on the desktop, then choose Personalize. On the left side menu, you should click Change desktop icons.
This will show you the desktop items that you can have appear. Most people will want Computer, Recycle Bin, and User’s Files checked off so that they are easily accessible from the desktop.